This Kindle blog of Kindle Fire, Paperwhite, and other e-Ink Kindle tips and Kindle news - with links to Free Kindle Books (contemporary also) - explores the less-known capabilities of the Amazon Kindle readers and tablets. Ongoing tutorials, guides for little-known features and latest information on the Kindle Fire tablets and their competitors. Questions are welcome in Comments area.
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Amazon launches its two HDX Kindle Fires and the new basic HD 7" family tablet

I took a rare mid-week night out and Amazon announced its new Yr 2013 Kindle Fire lineup, which I saw after midnight.
Here are some introductory comments + links to the two press releases for added detail beyond what I highlighted, since the new features are so plentiful. They've been working on quite a bit.

(See UPDATES to this blog entry below. Original posting was 5:20 AM~ on 9/25/13. Update3b done 9/29, 1:42 pm (and adding a new article Oct. 1
ALSO see the follow-up article, Things to know about the HDX/HD line, with more details and enhancements not mentioned here.)

First, Pricing bases plus Amazon links for the new HDX models and the new basic HD 7" ALL have Dolby Audio Dual Stereo Speakers and Dual band WiFi, while the HDX models have dual antennas also.

Starting prices are with special offers that they say will offer more savings than Lighting deals.

ESSENTIALS
The HDX models are a THIRD lighter, several times faster (with quad-core) Snapdragon 800 processing, and have higher display resolutions than the Apple iPad 4, and -- well above other tablet offerings -- they incorporate an almost overwhelming number of software features using their Fire OS 3.0 Mojito.

New and promising: We'll be able to PRINT from the tablet, scroll lyrics to songs highlighting current line and, in x-ray enabled tv shows and movies, identify Songs in movies and be able to jump to those songs.
ALSO, "If an app runs on Android, it can run on Fire OS" &nbsp(Think the 1Mobile apps site for apps not available at the well-vetted Amazon Android Appstore.)

Longer battery life for "mixed-use," said to be 10 hours for the basic HD model and 11-12 hours for the HDX ones and "reading"-only mode should get 17-18 hours on the HDX models.

Dynamic Image Contrast (automatically higher contrast in sunlight so you can see the content) is an enhancement, as is 100% sRGB color accuracy (Photoshop enthusiasts will like this compatibility feature).

Re 4G options available
These are available for the HDX models.
I was intrigued by Verizon's new cellular plan that includes your smartphone and your various tablets

The UNUSUAL DIRECT 24/7 SUPPORT CO-Pilot on your HDX tablet [* see bottom]Amazing Mayday feature only Amazon would think of (!)
Allows free 24/7 access to a video-based support connection to a Kindle expert who can respond on your Kindle Fire with solutions, acting as your co-pilot until the problem is fixed (hopefully) or you understand it better. The support person can draw on it to show you where a needed control is, etc. The cost of this must be phenomenal, but Amazon's most prized customer feature is its customer support.

See, at the Mayday page link above, the three Mayday-support TV ads (all accessible via one click for the video-set) that'll show you exactly what the Mayday help is like, when you are able to get video access to your support person who can hear (but not see) you and can point to and circle the buttons you need to use to get what you want.
For gifts to those new to tablets or computer technology, this would probably be high on the list.

NEW, excellent features that users have requested that all the models share:COLLECTIONS - Merging Cloud and Tablet books into CollectionsDOWNLOADS of PRIME Instant VideosUpdated support for e-mail and calendar for GMail, Outlook and moreChoose between Carousel view (most recent) or GRID View ("Favorites"). The large, horizontally-scrolling Carousel images were annoying. And I'm hoping they'll give customers the option not to have the most recent webpage or book displayed, as many don't want that when living with others.

About COLLECTIONS - Judging from the new implementation of this feature which includes the Cloud, in the new Kindle for iOS v4.0 update that's received rave reviews from users, this will be a big plus for many. I had a draft of an updated blog entry on the Kindle for iOS update before I left last night and will post that in the next day or two.

All-New X-Ray for Music
Amazon has expanded X-Ray to music by adding lyrics that let you follow along with songs.

Lyrics display and scroll automatically line-by-line as the song plays.

SECOND Screen feature
" 'Fling' content from their Fire to their TV, turning the TV into the primary screen and freeing up [the] Fire as a second screen to email, browse the web, play a game, or follow along scene-by-scene with X-Ray." ... The Kindle Fire HD [maybe] and HDX can then sync the video and the X-Ray data in the cloud and stream the video directly to the TV, "so the quality of the video is not dependent [on] the tablet’s processor or networking. The customer can even take their tablet to another room and leave the video playing on the TV." See one caveat on this feature.

Quick Switch "uses a global swipe gesture from anywhere in the system to go between multiple apps, and unlike standard Android, works with individual content items like different textbooks without navigating home."

* UPDATE1 - re Mayday. Geekwire's Todd Bishop reports on a show & tell with CEO Jeff Bezos for selected press groups and has a good description of how Mayday works:

' [Bezos] picks up one of the company’s new Kindle Fire HDX tablets, swipes to access the Quick Settings menu, and presses a new button called “Mayday.” After a few seconds, a small video box appears on screen, showing a live tech support rep on the other end.
“I see you’ve found the Mayday button,” says the person on the screen. “I’ll be your tech adviser, Dylan.”

During the demo that follows, the tech support rep shows Bezos and a small audience of reporters how to navigate the tablet to download a game and change basic settings.
The rep can draw circles and arrows on the screen to point out features. He actually takes control of the tablet at one point.
The support rep can hear the user’s questions and see the tablet screen but, to preserve privacy, can’t actually see the user. '

Small favors re not seeing the user! But that's amazing use of technology and a definite wow factor, although we are not all likely to get a 'Dylan' every time we cry for help.
Bezos emphasizes the importance of their integration of hardware, operating systems, key apps, the cloud and services for a feature like this one.

UPDATE3 and 3a - I'm adding a couple of items - first, a paragraph found in the USA Today article by Edward C. Baig, who asked a question that was on my mind and received an acknowledgement though no answer to what would be done to curb the use of Mayday as a form of entertainment. Unlike other intense customer support services, this one is free 24/7 and with no time limit on a support session.

' I asked Bezos if anything would prevent people from tapping the Mayday button to merely mess with the representative or to socialize because they're lonely. "My prediction is that's going to happen," he said.

... For now, the Mayday feature only works over Wi-Fi, and only with 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX models. It won't work with the cheaper new Kindle Fire HD model. '

The 2nd item for Update3 is about the Second Screen feature (described above). Baig reports: that this viewing via TV and Cloud of a tablet video while controlling it from the tablet:

' will be available starting next month, Amazon says, and it will work with Sony's PlayStation 3 (and later this year, PlayStation 4), as well as on Samsung TVs. You will also be able to wirelessly "mirror" movies, TV shows and photos from your tablets to the big-screen TV if you have Miracast-capable accessories or TVs. '

[However, Miracast is available only on the Kindle HDXs.]

** I checked the new product pages and there is NO HDMI feature on the new, 2nd generation HD and two HDX tablets mentioned.
I've verified that the new tablets do not have the wonderful earlier micro-HDMI port for direct connection to an HDTV set (whether in a hotel while traveling or on TV's in the homes of others where videoclips and photos can be shared that way).

I've been able to use the HDMI-out with any tablet material, including web browsing and tablet movies, and I don't have Playstations or Samsung TVs, so that's a loss for 1-cable, shared use of viewing with others in the area or in relaxed state in a lounger when viewing material on the larger screen. I wouldn't be buying a Samsung TV for the Second Screen feature. However, we can use a Miracast-adapter on the HDX tablets for wireless HDMI-out that will mirror the tablet screen rather than act as a second screen as the Amazon 'Fling' technology allows. Amazon is said to be working with other makers on all these features.

It's one reason for some to keep or even get the lower-cost Kindle Fire HD - 1st Generation tablet starting at $269229 -- just for the 1-cable use with the built-in microHDMI output if that's an important feature for you.

But a small adapter and wireless HDMI out could be worth the added $80 or so. A $45 one mentioned on the Kindle forums is already unavailable and was said to have some latency problems. It'll be a while before reviews come in, in good volume, for the Miracast adapters that come up in a search of Amazon.UPDATE - Amazon has since certified a Miracast adapter that works with the Kindle HDX's.

If choosing the older HD model, you wouldn't, though, have the "Mojito" operating system and Mayday, and would miss out on features like scrolling song lyrics, an 8MB rear-facing camera, direct-video support on the tablet for any problems, the new Collections feature (which will work for apps as well as for e-books, Downloads of streaming Prime Instant Video, as well as a choice between Carousel (most recently used actions) and Grid views ("Favorites") for opening screen.

As CNET's David Carnoy points out about the Second Screen feature that uses Amazon's 'Fling' technology: [bracketed comments are mine]

' But, instead of simply mirroring your tablet [as with a micro-HDMI output or with Miracast], the Kindle Fire will be freed up to browse the Web, play a game, or whatever else you desire to do with it -- you can even leave the room with it -- while your video content plays on your TV with X-Ray info.

According to Amazon [with the Fling technology which is available only on recent Samsung TVs and Playstations for now], the quality of the video will not be dependent on the tablet's processor load or connection. '

I won't be trading in my Kindle Fire HD 8.9 1st Gen, as I like the ease, speed and cost of the 1-cable HDMI-out port but will still get the new 8.9" for blog-info purposes and because I love highest resolution and definitely faster processing when I can get it -- and the Mojito OS's other features are attractive to me.

He reminds us that these "have the highest-resolution screens currently on the market and the fastest chips ever put in tablets." But he's just as impressed by the features, including Second Screen and Mayday.

Rothman considers the HDX tablets (barring large negatives that might appear) "a threat to Apple's message of premium content and superior convenience" - finding that the "HDX screens are much easier on the eyes than last year's iPad" and likely not to be beat by Apple's new coming devices at these prices.

I didn't mention above that the 8MB HDX 8.9" tablet's camera has specs that make it a decent lower-light camera too, with some image stabilization, and is more capable than most existing tablet cameras.

Fun-to-read account of one of the several small press-groups that were summoned to get briefings on the new Kindle Fire HDX's, and it's clear that this approach works well for Amazon, because when the person holding the briefing is Jeff Bezos, the press tends to purr its resulting articles (and in this case, why not). Participating with CNet's David Carnoy (or assigned together) were Mashable's Lance Ulanoff and Consumer Reports' Donna Tapellini.

Although the Carnoy articles are really well-written and interesting, I can't imagine asking Bezos if he feels he's 'the next Steve Jobs.' But that was the headline.

No, he's the current and next Jeff Bezos, and while he may not focus on maximizing profits (something Apple does very well, with a narrower range of projects included), Bezos has a humongous variety of projects that his people find themselves slaving over (now that his crew provides sophisticated web services for entities like Netflix and thousands of large companies and they have their hands in almost every aspect of their consuming-customers' lives, with services like one-day food delivery services being ramped up.

A couple of years ago, some considered Amazon 'just a bookstore' with no knowledge of nor expertise with hardware or software and wrote that they should leave that arena to those who understand it.

The hardware/software integration of complicated service offerings, especially as seen in the new Kindle Fire OS (but which started with Kindle Whispernet -- the very reason the Kindle took off when the other e-readers had failed), is impressive. Early reports acknowledge the obvious amount of energy involved in the coordination and balancing of several teams creating unique features that are very complex but which need to appear simple.

The acquisition of IMDB was one example of long-range planning, which we now see with the sync'd X-Ray features for movies, tv shows, and even details of the music involved.

Many speak reverently of best hardware specs (and now we even have these with the new Kindle Fire HDX line, at more reasonable pricing that other companies are trying to meet), and many consider pure Android 'The True Way' but it isn't, not for non-technically-focused consumers who just want their devices to work and deliver the entertainment they choose.

Inventiveness and creativity are huge with Bezos and it shows up in the new features that other tablet makers or 'stores' wouldn't even consider offering.

So, I think he's no "the next Steve Jobs" and am glad for it, except that I hope he's looking into some of the warehouse problems reported and is as interested in warehouse employees' health as he is in customer happiness.

You can do a TRADE-IN on your older Kindles
To learn how to submit a trade-in order for your Kindle, visit this Help page

CREDIT available if you very recently bought a Kindle Fire
Amazon usually gives 30 days to ponder whether or not you want the new Kindle after all or prefer to return it for a refund. It's something they've quietly honored, for obvious reasons, since a dominant focus is customer service.

If you bought one within the last 4 weeks or so and want one of the newly announced models instead, call 866-321-8851 or access, online, Amazon's Contact Us desk to ask about returning it if you prefer to order a newer model, and they will accept the return and credit you the amount you paid for it but you'll need to pay the ship-back cost unless it's defective. If the 1st level customer rep says "No" then call back later to get another customer rep.

HOWEVER, note that if you bought a Yr 2012 Kindle Fire HD for $159 recently, you were not buying the equivalent of Yr 2013's basic Kindle Fire HD, which replaces last year's BASIC Kindle Fire (with no HD).

With the recent sales price of $159, you were buying the 7" Kindle Fire HD with front-facing CAMERA with mic (good for Skype) and with a micro-HDMI output port to an HDTV. You would have received a $199 model for $159, and it is a much more fully-featured model than the $139 *basic* Kindle Fire HD that is coming out in October. [End of Update2]

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Major Update Includes Brand-New Design & Collections! Kindle Version 4 is beautifully redesigned around the themes of deference, clarity and depth. Collections give customers the ability to simply and easily organize their libraries.

What's New in V4?
* Collections: Easily categorize books, docs, and magazines with a few easy taps
* Flatter style controls create a sharp, new customer experience
* Translucency effects keep constant connection between customers and their content
* Slide-out menus in Library and Reader that combine key controls and glide to the touch
* Performance and Stability Improvements

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Description: "... The advice offered by Kindle experts and even Amazon itself can give images that are tiny, blocky, noisy, or wildly inconsistent on different Kindles...
How do you make pictures look great on the Kindle? He answers that question, while also providing beginners a basic course in picture editing."

The author can rightfully boast "#1 AMAZON BESTSELLER IN PUBLISHING & BOOKS (JULY 2013" (He priced the short books well at $2.99 each.)

2. HTML Fixes for Kindle: More on Self Publishing Your Kindle Book, or Tips for Touching Up HTML from Microsoft Word and Other Apps So Your Ebook Looks as Good as It Possibly Can
This should be helpful to those concerned about final layout as experienced by the reader.

Hope they're also at this price tomorrow. I just happened on these tonight.
They're both published in the last two months, and the feedback looks good.

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The Kindle Fire HD 7" is back on sale "for a limited time" for $159, or $40 off the normal price, on the 16GB model.

Saw that on the product page last night. While the Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet 16 GB model is on a special sale, the 32 GB model isn't, still being $229. The 8.9" model also is not on sale.

The coming Kindle Fire HD - 3rd generation modelsBGR's Zach Epstein reported on Sept 11 that BGR had received from "a trusted source" some photos alleged to be of the new Kindle Fire 3rd Generation models to be announced in the next few weeks. They're said, as noted before, to be lighter and more comfortable to hold, but also more angular.

The images shown by BGR in its photo gallery are fairly dark, and I've lightened up the ones showing the volume rocker and power button now on the back rims and the speakers on the top rim, angled toward the back. The tablet would not look like this and would be all black, so don't expect this to be the 'look' of it. I just wanted to make the details more visible.

The current Kindle Fire HD speakers are on the lower back, where they actually have a a bit more fullness when I prop the tablet up against something which bounces the sound back as they do with 'shells' for acoustic music on stages. They'd be easier to hear, overall, on the top though, in general, relative to the current ones when nothing is behind them.

When I lightened them up, there are differences in the shades of the top, middle, and bottom portions of the frame specifically aligned with where the parts are joined, with diagonal slants. It's almost as if it were some kind of mockup.

Epstein says they made the back details obscure so the unit couldn't be easily traced back to the source due to any unique markings. So the source may be a 3rd party developer (they sign non-disclosure agreements).

The main-story's top photo is not in the photo gallery and looks like an ad shot, so it's probably just an illustration for the story to show the expected look of the more angled corners reported.

The high resolutions promised for the new generation tablets, as mentioned, match the earlier report by BGR, and the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, clocked at more than 2GHz, plus a reported 2GB of RAM should be a boon if the report is accurate (and BGR has been before, on Kindle hardware predictions). They say it'll run on top of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and offer the same variety of internal storage options.

As reported before, the 7" would have a front-facing camera (for Skype, etc) but no back-facing one, while the 8.9" model would get an 8 megapixel rear camera also.

The 7" model would have a 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display vs the current 1280 x 800, and the 8.9" model would boast a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel display vs the current 1920 x 1200 (which is already very clear on a not-quite 9-inch tablet). The basic Kindle Fire non-HD would go from the current IPS display with 1024 x 600, one report said earlier, to 1280 x 800, so -- if true -- the base model would be going to HD. These are all non-verified and from BGR's source and matched, mostly, by news reports from Taiwan from suppliers of parts.

We may know soon.

Jeff Bezos' stated goals, attention to customer experience, and an interesting challenger with a new technology for quick purchasing
An article at ninemsn, by Motley Fool Staff features quotes from Amazon's chief over the years.

Some of it struck me after reading about the new "secret" technology (PowaTag) that involves taking a smartphone/tablet photo of something you want (that someone might be wearing or using) and then being shown where you can buy it that moment). Forbes has a headline that is an attention-getter (that's the idea): "The Secret Technology That Attracted $76 Million And Could Eat Amazon's Lunch" and it's definitely an interesting idea that will be used. An iPhone app almost 2 years ago could take a picture of a sign in another language and translate it for you on the spot. This would entail getting arrangements with online merchants, and already signed-on, according to UK-based POWA founder and CEO Dan Wagner, are 15 companies, including Harper Collins, Electrolux, Hoover and Lavazza.

'Using PowaTag will sidestep middlemen retailer sites and allow manufacturers to make direct sales. "Normally I’d look at that book and go to Amazon and buy it and they’d get 30% of the retail price," said Wagner. "It's a game-changer for manufacturers."'

A key factor will be the delivery systems involved and attention to the customer experience, when possibly many varied partner companies would be involved in fulfillment, delivery, and Powa would take care of post-purchase service.

A detailed article that Forbes links to is at Techcrunch. The founder sold another company for $500 million and "has developed e-commerce sites for companies like Tesco, Orange, and the Universal Music Group — which could give some clue to where he holds contacts today and who Powa may count as clients in the future."

Some goals they might consider are ones that Bezos has put front and center, involving trust and consistency. Examples from the statements about the business philosophy that has drive Amazon to the top:

' . We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

' What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’ And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important... — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. … [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection.

It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,’ [or] ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.

. In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts. ’

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The Apple explanation there is displayed in FAINT purple and I personally can't read it. What possesses web developers to make sure that the important text is barely seeable, much less readable? Is it just that it's an attractive color? Or, maybe, it's the idea that Apple users may be younger than most.

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I highlight this monthly set of deals at or near the beginning of the month for those who don't know about it or might not remember.

Amazon changed the layout of this monthly feature on their U.S. pages, and they no longer call it the '100' monthly books. In fact, this month there are 210 Kindle books, and recently they included an Editors' Choice scroll-box that had 20 Kindle books in it at hefty discounts. This month it has 21 Editors' Choice at the same level of discounts. I also like that the offerings for the month are broken down into separate categories.

For those who want to quickly look first at only the ones that are star-rated at 4 or above, I ran across Amazon's page for exactly that (the image for this blog article is from that page. There are 179 Kindle books in that category.

As of September 4, there are 210 titles overall, though, and separate categories that are highlighted, using Amazon's usual horizontally-scrolling pick-lists, for the following topics that may show fewer titles highlighted on the main page than you'll find if you click on their alternative, vertically-scrolled listing (with sorting options) which they link to via "See all" at the bottom of each horizontally-scrolled category row [ I'm adding direct links to the full category listings ]:

THEN, at the bottom of the new main monthly Kindle book-deals page, they offer the FULL current monthly listing, defaulting to sorting by "New and Popular" and there are 210 in all, currently, but the number may vary.

FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for September (and August)
I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for SEPTEMBER, sorted by publication-date, as of September 4, 2013. There are only a few shown on the first day or two of any month, and these include pre-orders due that month. On the first few days of the month, most of these are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen, some are short stories, and a few (overnight) not-entire-family-safe titles may show up.

The Kindle Daily Deal page
for any given day now shows a lot of books since it includes children's books, a couple of genre-specific deals, and the monthly daily deals as well.

DISCOUNTED / Price Dropped Kindle eBooks II - the ongoing Kindle Forum message thread
This is an ongoing message thread in which Kindle owners share information on recent drops in pricing on specific Kindle books, often with some added info by the person posting it.

Here's a link to the thread, starting at a September 3 posting that includes books that are still on sale today September 4, - with the Lucky Harbor Series by Jill Shalvis discounted briefly from $6.64 to $1.99 by Hachette Book Group.

Most of the temporary price drops reported are smaller than usual, but one notable $-drop is still effective as of today, on the same starting page:
Four Sue Grafton Novels (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) in one Kindle book.
Was $31.99, and during the last two days, it's $6.83. A $25.16 price drop.saraf, who posted this, quoted part of an Entertainment Weekly review on this set of four novels from The NY Ties bestselling series featuring "the spunkiest, funniest, and most engaging private investigator in Santa Teresa, California, not to mention the entire detective novel genre."

Following that are many mostly temporary price drop reports from the larger publishers, though the savings are less dramatic. These tend to be very short-term discounts.

That forum topic link is to a specific day to start, in this case, a book alert on Sept 3, as mentioned, but you can look at previous days or keep up with ongoing alerts after that, as Amazon keeps track of the last message# that you read, so that you can start from there next time. While many of the better deals seem around $1.99-$4.99, there are a good number of larger-publishing house deals included (primarily price-matching) that tend to end in a DAY, so you'd need to double-check the current pricing of ANY Kindle books that interest you to see if the discounts are still active.

Again, Kindle book prices are discounted for only a very short time, too often, and are promos, and that's another reason to watch the list. Most of the large-publisher discounts last only one or two days even when they originate the discount.

DISCOUNTS ON ACCESSORIES Amazon's current pages (some, ongoing) on accessories for Kindle e-Reader and Kindle Fire
1. Up to 50% (higher discount as a "Spring Sale: than usual) on covers for Kindle eReaders
2. Up to 50% on covers for Kindle Fire (Gen 2) and Kindle Fire HD tablets

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Today, we announced that the world's best-selling e-reader-Kindle Paperwhite-is getting even better. The all-new Kindle Paperwhite features new display technology with higher contrast, the next generation built-in light, a faster processor, the latest touch technology, and exclusive new features designed from the ground up for readers.

Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G are available for pre-order starting today at Amazon... Here's a list of all the changes and new features of the Kindle Paperwhite:

- New display technology with higher contrast-Kindle Paperwhite's display is the most advanced e-reader display ever constructed. Higher contrast and better reflectivity means whites are whiter and blacks are blacker, so the pages are virtually indistinguishable from a physical book. You won't find this level of contrast with any other e-reader display.
- Next generation built-in light-Guides light toward the surface of the display so you can read comfortably without eyestrain.
- New, 25% faster processor-Books open and pages turn faster for a seamless reading experience.
- New touch technology-19% tighter touch grid makes Kindle Paperwhite respond even more accurately to the smallest touches, while still avoiding accidental page turns.
- New Kindle Page Flip-Skim page-by-page, scan by chapter [!], or skip to the end of your book, all without losing your place. For example, it's now easy to quickly flip back and forth to that map of Beyond the Wall in A Dance With Dragons.
- New Goodreads Integration-Combines the world's largest e-reading community and the world's largest community of book lovers. Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle, available exclusively from Amazon.
- New Kindle FreeTime-Built-in parental controls have been extended to give parents a simple, engaging way to encourage kids to spend more time reading. Hand-select books for your kids to read, and hand out achievement badges when they hit reading milestones. A progress report keeps parents updated on total time spent reading, number of words looked up, badges earned and books finished.
- New Vocabulary Builder-Compiles words you look up in the dictionary into an easy-to-access list. Use these lists to quiz yourself with flashcards and instantly see words in context.
- New Smart Lookup-Integrates a full dictionary definition with other reference information about a word, character, topic or book via X-Ray and Wikipedia. For example, using an ordinary dictionary to look up "credit default swaps" in Michael Lewis' The Big Short would give the individual definitions of "credit," "default" and "swaps." Smart Lookup recognizes this is an important topic and phrase in the book, and gives you the correct definition of "credit default swaps" via X-Ray.
- New Kindle MatchBook-New benefit lets customers purchase Kindle editions of print books purchased from Amazon-past, present and future - for $2.99 or less. '

Update 3 Added notes: UK buyers will go to the same links as before, to get the new one. I've redone the current Kindles Global Listing.

The new WiFi Paperwhites will be released late September and the 3G in early November. Check the product pages for current actual-release dates.

Here's the U.S. product page for the 3G version of the Kindle Paperwhite.

The new model has the same dimensions, so buying new cases and covers won't be necessary.
[End of Update 3]

Ending it here, to let people know sooner. More details later, especially on the new Kindle MatchBooks feature, which offers (for $2.99 or less-- and some are free) Kindle versions of print books previously purchased new and from Amazon - info for customers, authors, publishers. The matching is done for print books you purchased, new, from Amazon since "1995 when Amazon first opened its online bookstore." And of course this holds for future print books too, depending on whether author and publisher join the Kindle MatchBook program.

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